From 19th century illustrators and painters like Gustave Doré the more modern and close Juan Carlos Eguillor, in addition to a large representation of the contemporary Basque art embodied in Ibon Aranberri, Itziar Okariz and Ana Laura Aláez: these are the proper names of the purchases and donations that have entered the collection of the Fine Arts in the second half of 2020. In total, the Fine Arts has disbursed about 350,000 euros for these works, of which 70,000 euros the has contributed the Association of Friends of the museum.
Among the works is, by donation from Marino Montero, the famous Eguillor poster of the first Aste Nagusia, held in 1978, which is inserted in a museum that has hosted and studied the rich tradition of Basque posterism, with Antonio Guezala at the head.
In addition to the creators, the origin of the money with which some pieces have been bought stands out, the Association of Friends of the Museum, which last year rose to 4,331 members, 10% more than the previous year, according to the director from the center, Miguel Zugaza. It is the case of the box large format by Gustave Doré (Strasbourg, 1832-Paris, 1883) entitled ‘Los vagabundos’ and which has cost 44,000 euros.
Painted after one of his trips to Spain in 1863, the work responds to the artist’s interest in the bohemians and outcasts, like beggars and showmen. For this reason, the work is presented in the room of the collection corresponding to the O de Otredad. And with it, the museum reinforces the link between European painting and the Spanish school, from which came the careers of key artists in the collection such as Ignacio Zuloaga, Juan de Echevarría or José Gutiérrez Solana.
A century later, the work of Vicente Ameztoy (San Sebastián, 1946-2001) is located, to which the Bellas Artes dedicated an anthology that was on the bill for a good part of 2020 and which could also be seen at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid . Also with the funds of the Association of Friends they have bought the San Sebastian painting ‘Untitled’ from 1970, which can already be seen in the Mirror Room.
The same group has also contributed to the program of acquisitions of contemporary artists with ‘Variation sur la même t’aime’ (1992), by Itziar Okariz (San Sebastián, 1965), belonging to one of the artist’s first photographic series, which is presented in room Y.
The museum has also bought an important set of works by this creator, which includes the video works’ Climbing buildings. Abando RENFE ‘, Plaza Circular, Bilbao (2003) and’ Las statues (Jorge Oteiza, ‘My woman’) ‘, from 2018. The set offers an overview of Okariz’s career from the early 1990s to the present and which is completed with the donation made by the artist of the sound work ‘Applause’ (2011) which is presented in room TX (House).
Within the program acquisitions of contemporary artists, Basque and women, the incorporation of the installation ‘Head-Spiral-Hole-Puño-Sperm-Nudo’ (2008) by Ana Laura Aláez is included (Bilbao, 1964). Made up of six dark sculptural forms hanging on the wall, the piece will soon participate in Aláez’s retrospective ‘All concerts, every night, all empty’, which will be held at Azkuna Zentroa starting in May. Enter a previous work by the artist ‘Butterflies (2004) by donation.
On the other hand, the presence of Ibon Aranberri (Itziar-Deba, 1969) in the museum’s collection is now completed with ‘Untitled (Barrutik kanpora)’, a video recorded in 2019 inside the Iritegi cave (Oñati) before the disassembly of the metal structure with the that the artist had closed it in 2003, an action, the latter, which resulted in the sculpture ‘Zulo beltzen geometria’, recently incorporated into the museum. The video, donated by the artist, is projected in the first floor lobby of the old museum building as a counterpoint to the presence of the sculpture in the modern hall.
The 2020 purchases are completed with the sculpture ‘sarà-sarà’ by Josu Bilbao (Bermeo, 1978) currently exhibited in room 32, held during confinement and presented for the first time a few months ago at the Párraga Center in Murcia. For his part, the artist has donated a folder with various sketches and documentation related to the assembly of the work ‘esàk-esà’, which was installed in 2018 in the modern hall of the museum on the occasion of the exhibition ‘After 68’.
Finally, among the donations received in 2020, the Fine Arts emphasizes the one made in memory of Jorge de Barandiarán, director of the museum between 1983 and 1996, who recently passed away. These are two albums of artistic memories that belonged to the mythical Lúzaro gallery in Bilbao, an exhibition space that Barandiarán directed together with Asís Aznar and the collaboration of Carmen López-Niclós, and whose activity was key to local artistic life and the development of visual arts in Euskadi in the 1970s.
The donation is made up of 67 originals by the main artists who were part of Lúzaro’s exhibition program, focused on avant-garde art, both relevant Spanish artists, as well as Rafael Canogar, Luis Feito, Lucio Muñoz, José María Yturralde or Francisco Peinado, as especially Basques such as Marta Cárdenas, Juan Luis Goenaga, Andrés Nagel, Carmelo Ortiz de Elguea, Remigio Mendiburu or Juan Carlos Eguillor himself.
– .
